our life in a city. with a dog. a baby boy. and food.

yesterday, i mentioned dreams of planning a kitchen around the vintage sugar canister that we saw in an antique shop. here are some ideas that came to mind:
the blue subway tile on the backsplash would echo the blue lacquered canister so nicely. i love how the color palette is so fresh, and with the bamboo blinds and great natural light this kitchen has a laid-back, beachy vibe. i love it. i might swap out the barstools for something aluminum though.
i also love this bright and colorful kitchen, and that bold blue accent color (seen in the bowl on the countertop and on the upper left shelves) could easily be fulfilled by the lovely vintage sugar tin.
aren’t these floors amazing?? polished concrete! this could inspire anyone to scratch their creative itch.
this refreshing and peaceful kitchen could use just a little pop of blue.
and i love this vintage-y, adorable kitchen. and see the canister up on the shelf? yep, you guessed it. that could be “my” blue sugar container. although, i do love this green color scheme, too.

a few months back (at the end of january, actually) Jeff and I went to one of our favorite weekend spots: st. michael’s, maryland. while there, we celebrated our 7-years-together/3-years-since-our-engagement/1-year-and-8-months-married anniversary (I hear that’s a very common type of anniversary, right?). we enjoyed the cozy inn where we had stayed the year before thanks to a great offer on jetsetter and ate delicious food – the highlight of which was arugula and fennel pizza and powdered dough from ava’s. on a cloudy monday, we explored the town and even tried our hand at antiquing.this was our first real attempt at “antiquing” although we have been in thrift shops many times before. is there an official distinction? i mean, in both cases there are vintage goods, but for some reason the prices seem to be drastically different. we found a few cute shops, but in the end only came away with two purchases – an adorable tiny owl placard and an early 20th-century suggestion box which looks a bit like a footstool (both not pictured, but i’ll try to snap some photos soon when we take pictures of our little place). there were also these two items that i’m still pining for: an awesome blue sugar canister in excellent vintage condition but pricy ($65! but i would seriously plan an entire kitchen around this thing) and then that adorable little dress. the cute collar and print won me over, but it had some stains that worried me… well, that and the fact that we don’t have or know any little girls that size. so… they got left behind. and yes, i still think about them even three months later.it was an overcast weekend but still picturesque, peaceful and relaxing. st. michael’s is so charming and a perfect getaway for anyone in the DC/ Baltimore/ Philadelphia/ New Jersey/ or even New York area. it is also gorgeous in springtime (and i’m sure the same goes for fall). perfect wedding location, too.

Pinterest is an amazing place. seriously. could i be any more smitten with this thing? i’m so glad i jumped on the bandwagon (thanks to this convincing post and this one) because not only is it fun and creative (and addictive), but it’s super convenient for storing all my inspiration /bookmarks /new discoveries in one spot. my green and garden pinboard has us dreaming about all the ways to greenify our home. here are some favorites:

in light of Easter, we didn’t get to recognize earth day too much, but we will definitely make up for that in time with posts about all the ways we love this world and try to preserve it. and although we do love a good party on april 22, for us earth day really is everyday.[photos from Utah, summer 2010]

check back for posts about composting, recycling and other fun things. and if dirt and trash don’t sound appealing (but oh! they are…) then there are posts about gardens, recipes, and design coming up, too… something for everyone.